Fan



Patented Jan. 14, 1936 UNITED STATES omit FAN William K. Skoleld, Bridgeport, Conn., assignor to General Electric Company, a corporation of New York Application July 3, 1934, Serial No. 733,566

8 Claims. (Cl. 230--259) This invention relates generally to fans and more particularly to the construction of a reversible drive for fans.

In fans used for Ventilating purposes it is frequently desirable to be able to reverse the direction of movement of the air. This is particular- 1y true of vertically mounted ceiling fans when used in public places because one person seated beneath the fan may desire to have the air blow directly on him whereas another person similarly located may object to the air blowing directly on him and yet desire the ventilation afforded by the fan. I

An object of this invention is to produce an improved reversible fan of simple and rugged construction which is inexpensive to manufacture.

A further object of my invention is to provide an improved reversing mechanism and drive which may be used in the construction of a revrsible fan. A

For a consideration of what I believe to be novel and my invention, attention is directed to the following specification and the claims appended thereto.

` In the drawing, Fig. l is an elevation of a reversible fan driving means including a motor and partial section of a fan blade carrier and motor rocker mechanism; Fig. 2 is an end View in partial section of the fan carrier and motor frame, 3 showing in sectional detail the connection of the spring rocker mechanism with the motor and its support; Fig. 3 is a sectional view of a part of the fan blade carrier showing a modified form of track.

35 Referring to the drawing, there is shown in Fig. 1 an embodiment of my invention applied to a ceiling fan in which a driving motor III is pivotally mounted in a frame II by means of pivot pins I2 journaled in trunnion bearings 40 formed in the motor supporting frame. To 0btain a simple and compact arrangement, the motor frame II and a fan blade carrier i3 are both mounted upon a single support which, in this illustration, is a suspension pipe Ill adapted 45 to be fixed to a ceiling for supporting the fan at any desired height.

In accordance with my invention a reversible drive is obtained by selectively driving the fan in opposite directions thru an annular track I5 o by an electrically nonreversible motor through friction driving means I6 connected to shaft extensions I1 at each end of the motor rotor. In order to obtain the selectivity desired, the motor is pivotally mounted on an axis transverse to the 55 axes of the drive shaft and fan carrier and slight*` 1y lower than the engagement surface of the an nular track I5 so that driving engagement can only bemade by tilting the motor about its pivotal axis. This adjustment may be obtained by means of an over-center spring rocker mechanism, 5 which, in the illustration, comprises an operating lever I8 pivotally mounted upon a support i5 which is rigidly connected to the motor supporting frame II. The operating lever engages a bearing plate 20 operatively connected to a rocker 10 arm 2| which is secured to one of the motor pivot pins I2. The rocker mechanism may be sprung into either of its extreme positions by means cf a spring 22 which is mounted in compression be- Y tween the plate 20 and a second retaining plate 15 23, held in position by means of flanges upon the rocker arm 2 I. This arrangement also provides a means for retaining the selected drive in engagement, as the force tending to separate the driving elements is counterbalanced by the force exerted by the compressed spring in keeping the rocker mechanism in one of its extreme positions. Since the two driving means I6 are mounted upon the same shaft they rotate in the same direction, and by mounting them for engagement with diametrically opposite portions of a driven member rotatably supported with its axis of rotation between the two means the direction of rotation of the annular track I5 will loe in an obverse or reverse direction depending upon which driving means is in engagement with the track. Thus a selective engagement of the driving means I6 with the power transmission member I5 provides a reversible driving mechanism vof extremely simple construction.

It may be desirable to change the direction of rotation of the fan blades 2E after they have already been set in motion in one direction. This may be done by moving the operating lever I8 directly to its opposite extreme position. This 4,0 would result in a momentary reversal in the direction of rotation of the motor until the fan blades 25 and carrier I3 had been stopped and then started in the opposite direction. Obviously the braking of the fan blades and carrier by the motor would considerably increase the load on the motor during the transition period. Also, the reversal of the direction of rotation of the fan blades in this manner would result in vibrations which might be objectionable especially if a lighting unit is combined with the fan as is a common practice. To prevent the extra load on the motor and the vibration, the motor may be moved to an intermediate position so that neither of the driving means I6 is in engagement with 55 the track I5 before it is moved to the opposite operative position by moving the operating lever I8 to its midposition so that it is in line with the rocker arm 2I and spring 22 will not move the motor I0 to either of its operative positions. The fan blades 26 and carrier I3 may then be permitted to come to a complete stop before they are reversed.

Provision is made for the rotation of the fanl about the motor by mounting the fan carrier I3 upon the outer race 24 of a ball bearing carried by the motor support II and a flanged hanger 25 coupled to the lower end of the pipe I 4 which hanger also serves as the connector between the suspension pipe and the support II.

In carrying out this embodiment of my invention it has been found convenient to form the annular track I5, which functions as the power transmission member, as an integral part of the fan carrier I3 directly engageable by the motor driving gears as has been explained but I do not desire to be limited to such a construction. The annular track portion I5 need not be an integral part of the carrier, but also might be in the form of a separate annulus or ring secured to the fan carrier. Fan blades 26 may be attached in any suitable manner to the outer periphery of the rotatable carrier I3 and a stationary casing 21 may be secured to the motor support II to exclude dust and to conceal the operating parts. In Fig. 3 a modified form of track is illustrated which consists of two annular members 28 and 29 which are secured together by means of a plurality of screws 3D. The annular members 28 and 29 have surfaces which are adapted to extend over each side of the driving means I6 so that when the motor is moved from one operative position to the other one of the driving means I6 will engage the top annular member 28 and the other will engage the bottom annular member 29. In this way both of the driving means are in use for rotation of the fan blades in either direction. It has been found that by utilizing both the driving means there is less of a pulsation in the track produced by the motor and consequently less vibration. To further reduce the vibration which may be transmitted from the motor to the fan blades 26 and carrier I5, a rubber ring 3|` is interposed between the track and carrier I5. The annular members 28 and 29 and the rubber ring 3| are secured to the carrier I5 by means of a plurality of screws 32 which thread into metal inserts 33 molded in the rubber ring 3I. The rubber ring 3| may be secured directly to the annular member 28 by molding the ring directly on the annular member and by providing openings in member 28 such as opening 34 into which the rubber may extend. The utilization of both of the driving means I6 not only reduces the pulsation and vibration which may be transmitted to the fan blades and carrier but it also increases the contact area between the driving means and the track and so reduces the friction and wear of the driving means. This arrangement results in a very compact and rugged construction with the advantages inherent in the use of non-reversing electric motors combined with simplicity in the mechanical operating parts.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is:

1. A fan construction comprising in combination, a supporting frame, a motor having a drive shaft, pivotal supports for said motor in said frame on an axis transverse to the axis of said shaft, a fan blade carrier having an annular track rotatably mounted on an axis transverse to the axes of said shaft and said pivotal supports, driving means secured to said shaft on each side of the axis of said carrier, and means to pivot said motor shaft in said supports for selectively engaging either of said driving means with said track to selectively drive said fan carrier in opposite directions.

A fan construction comprising in combination, a frame, a moto-r having rotor shaft extensions at each end thereof, said motor being pivotally mounted in said frame on an axis transverse to the axis of said shaft, driving means connected to each of said shaft extensions, a fan blade carrier mounted to rotate about said motor and having a power transmission member, fan blades mounted upon said carrier, and a rocker mechanism arranged to pivot said motor in its frame mounting to selectively engage either Vof said driving means with said power transmission member.

3. In combination with a frame, of a motor adjustably mounted therein, a drive shaft for said motor, a driven member having an annular portion mounted to rotate about said motor on an axis transverse to the axis of said shaft, driving means mounted on said shaft on each side of the axis o-f said driven member, and means for selectively engaging either of said driving means with said annular portion to provide for the selective rotation of said member in opposite directions.

4. In combination a fan element comprising a series of blades, a hub member having an annular track and adapted for rotation, upon which said fan blades are mounted, a frame, a motor supported on said frame with its axis of rotation transverse to the axis of said fan, said motor having a drive shaft with a portion thereof extending on either side of said fan axis, a driving element secured to said shaft on each side of said fan axis, said shaft being arranged to pivot on said frame to bring either of said driving elements into engagement with said annular track, and an over-center rocker mechanism for biasing said motor into either of its pivotal positions.

5. In combination with a frame, of a motor adjustably mounted therein, a drive shaft for said motor, a fan blade carrier having an annular track mounted to rotate about said motor, driving means secured to said shaft on each side of the axis of rotation of said carrier, fan blades mounted on said carrier, and means for selectively engaging either of said driving means With said track to selectively rotate said carrier in opposite directions.

6. In combination with a frame, of a motor having a drive shaft, pivotal supports for said motor shaft in said frame on an axis transverse to the axis of said motor shaft, a driven member having an annular power transmission member rotatably mounted on an axis transverse to the axes of said shaft and said pivotal supports, driving means Secured to said shaft on each side of the axis of said driven member, and means to pivot said motor shaft in said supports for selectively engaging either of said driving means with said power transmission member for selectively driving said driven member in opposite directions.

7. A reversible fan construction comprising in combination, a frame, a motor adjustably mounted in said frame, shaft extensions at each end 0f said motor, a driving means secured to each of said shaft extensions, a casing having an annular portion mounted to rotate about said motor on an axis transverse to the axis of said motor shaft, fan blades mounted upon said casing, and an over-center spring rocker mechanism adapted to adjust the position of said motor within said frame to selectively engage either of said driving means with said annular portion to provide a driving connection therebetween for selective rotation of said casing in opposite directions.

8. A fan construction comprising in combination, a motor support, a motor pivotally mounted on said support including a rotor having shaft extensions at each end thereof, driving means mounted on each of said shaft extensions, a casing having an annular portion rotatably mounted upon said motor support, fan blades mounted upon said casing, and an over-center rocker mechanism arranged to pivot said motor on its support to selectively engage either of said driving means with said annular portion for driving said fan blades.

WILLIAM K. SKOLFIELD. 

